I used to look around for stuff on it, but it seems really unpopular compared to Evocation, Divination, and Abjuration. Most Wizard stuff is on that. So I ask all of you; Has anyone else played Enchantment Wizard, and if so, how were your experiences? Do you like to get within close quarters of enemies to make use of instinctive charm, or are those more for panic moments? Also what are some good Split Enchantment combos you guys have discovered? I'm fond of Dominate Person x2.
Hypnotic gaze has more rp element uses than actual combat value. Since taking yourself out of the fight means taking out a range damage dealer each turn.
But if you can use it successfully to restrain a foe with the help of a party member than it shines but it's solely based on being failed against.
And any split enchantment is good since it's a 2 for 1 per spell slot
Think of hypnotic gaze as a suedo steal anything mechanic. Gaze an npc and just take everything from them. Including clothes. Release them from the gaze, and since charm spells specifically say the charmed object knows they were charmed but hypnotic gaze does not have that in its rules text. They don't know what happened
The 'they know they've been charmed and are hostile toward you' aspect of Charm Person is just too much of a nerf. Maybe there could be a Save to see if they know, or it could be if they failed the initial save by x amount. Imagine the charm mechanic for a damage spell: enemy fails it's save & takes dmg like usual, but now they respond to it like a charm spell, so after one minute, they regain the lost hp. (Like how the opposite of charm happens when it wears off...)
Yeah, I played an Enchantment Wizard! Briefly, anyways. My Tiefling Enchantment Wizard was just oodles of fun to roleplay. Sadly, that campaign fell though, so I'm saving him for later at this time. He had the nobility background, was not going to inherit for story reasons, and, being a Tiefling, his primary motive for studying the arcane arts was to get people to "like" him more. He may or may not have had ambitions for world domination. It was one of the few times I played a PC with a questionable alignment.
I see some posters skeptical of the hypnotic gaze ability, but it save my ass for sure. The party Cleric and I had just gotten tossed into a pit with a deadly monster. Fighting would have meant certain death. I was too low level for a Hold Monster spell, but I as able to entrap it with my hypnotic gaze ability. Since you can extend the effect as an action without forcing another save, we were stalemated, which fortunately gave the Cleric plenty of time to find a locked door and bash it open. Thus followed our manly screams as we fled into the hallway too small for the monster to follow. I'm sure the ability loses it's luster as you level up and have access to better spells, but it was just the thing I needed for that particular encounter.
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"Because I'm trying to show this water elemental there's no need to be afraid of the pit of fire! Just play along."
I'm playing wizards all the time, and most of them I gravitate around Enchantment and Illusion, combining both to great results in and out of battle.
Hold Monster is great to focus the battle prowess of martial classes on less targets, and all illusion effects can work as brief conjurations if you play them smart.
I primarily play wizards as enchanters- I will say that 5e could really use some more extensive enchantment magic options for spells to compliment the current set, especially for a more concrete combat contribution if you want to stick to your theme. Still the 'hold' spells are very powerful, suggestion can be based on the DM, and there are certain spells that also work well, like tashe's hideous laughter.
I love playing my enchantment wizard! Hypontic gaze is incredibly fun rp opportunities and overall i have such a great time playing him as a mostly lazy fellow who uses magic to avoid hard work and get others to do things instead.
It's not as flashy or devastating as evocation, practical like divination or useful like abjuration but it's certainly enjoyable and useful in lots of situations.
I'm making one and hoping to have them last in a game long enough to hit level eighteen so I can take suggestion and charm person at will. Suggestion at will has been a dream of mine it sounds absurdly fun, and charm person will be great because by then they'll no longer know due to an awesome enchanter ability.
For extra fun is going to be a lazy ass bugbear wizard that learned magic cause it was easy to just chill a read all the time and use magic to make others do stuff for their lazy ass.
Think of hypnotic gaze as a suedo steal anything mechanic. Gaze an npc and just take everything from them. Including clothes. Release them from the gaze, and since charm spells specifically say the charmed object knows they were charmed but hypnotic gaze does not have that in its rules text. They don't know what happened
If my players tried to pull this Skyrim-esque feat of burgling, there would be harsh words at the table.
Think of hypnotic gaze as a suedo steal anything mechanic. Gaze an npc and just take everything from them. Including clothes. Release them from the gaze, and since charm spells specifically say the charmed object knows they were charmed but hypnotic gaze does not have that in its rules text. They don't know what happened
If my players tried to pull this Skyrim-esque feat of burgling, there would be harsh words at the table.
Firstly, there should not be harsh words if what they're doing is perfectly RAW and you did not change the rule in advance during the Session Zero.
Secondly: the Hypnotic Gaze only grants disadvantage to perception checks (-5 to passive perception) - if you steal in front of them they can still see and if not direct sight but nearby they can still make a perception check to maybe see the stealing, which would be enough to break the effect. It isn't a bucket on the head they somehow ignore.
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I'm trying to figure what rules your using to get that -5... Incapacitated is incapacitated, unless you can break their line of sight from the enchanter I don't see how they can react... In fact the whole point is they're stuck focusing on the enchanter and nothing else... I want to say I agree it can't be done, but I see no RAW why it can't... clearly you can't pull their shirt over their head because it covers their eyes... Honestly more I look more confused I am about this ability... It seems as long as you don't do damage, and they don't make their save, and they never lose their perception of you, the sky is the limit for your allies...
Think of hypnotic gaze as a suedo steal anything mechanic. Gaze an npc and just take everything from them. Including clothes. Release them from the gaze, and since charm spells specifically say the charmed object knows they were charmed but hypnotic gaze does not have that in its rules text. They don't know what happened
If my players tried to pull this Skyrim-esque feat of burgling, there would be harsh words at the table.
Firstly, there should not be harsh words if what they're doing is perfectly RAW and you did not change the rule in advance during the Session Zero.
Secondly: the Hypnotic Gaze only grants disadvantage to perception checks (-5 to passive perception) - if you steal in front of them they can still see and if not direct sight but nearby they can still make a perception check to maybe see the stealing, which would be enough to break the effect. It isn't a bucket on the head they somehow ignore.
I was being hyperbolic, but only slightly. I don't care if stealing the clothes off the back of an NPC is RAW, I hope my players understand that we're not playing that sort of game. "Haha, let's steal all this shopkeeper's stuff and then humiliate him!" No, we're not doing that. If you want to play that game, you can find someone else to run that game.
Second, I don't know which ability you're reading; Hypnotic Gaze leaves the creature charmed and incapacitated. (Alter Memories doesn't kick in until level 14.) I don't know if either of those affects perception, but there's no clause about the effect ending because the NPC doesn't like what he sees. I suppose an NPC could object or call for help, but I guess it depends on whether you think calling for help would violate being charmed and incapacitated.
Ahhh I was getting this confused with the Enthrall spell. >.<
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Also what are some good Split Enchantment combos you guys have discovered? I'm fond of Dominate Person x2.
For one, take Magic Initiate (Bard) and get Heroism at level 1. Split that one for some wicked damage reduction for you and an ally.
Hold Person at level 2. 2 people held at the beginning of combat is devilish. At level 11, you could use this 3 times, and an additional 3 times after a short rest with Arcane Recovery. 6 times per day. 12 humanoids.
Spell Mastery? Take Hold Person. Now you’re a god against humanoids, subjecting them continuously to your puppeteering ways over and over again.
Then take Tasha’s Laughter and become the best comedian in all of Neverwinter.
Power Word Kill and Power Word Stun at level 8/9. Two instant deaths or stuns without saves? absolute madness.
Enchantment is a riot to play and Split Enchantment is in my opinion on par with Divine Portent in terms of usability. Being able to Split *any* enchantment spell is a powerful boon.
also...
Geas at Level 9 is permanent instructions to two people. Talk about plotting the assassination of a rival king?
Dominate Person at 9th is literally two personal servants for 8 hours.
I'm still a little confused what you can do and what you can't do while your subject is under 'hypnotic gaze'. It requires your action to keep them dazed, so that leaves reaction, movement and bonus action. I guess with movement you can dramatically walk around your victim in a circle as long as you are within 5 feet of them. But what else can you do? Wouldn't stealing their stuff would be counted as an action, in which case the 'hypnotic gaze' would stop? They are Dazed, can you asked them questions? can request them to do something? like sit down? sign a piece of paper? can you take their hand and make them follow you somewhere?
Is there actually a list somewhere of things you can and cannot do? I'm guessing a lot of this would be up to the DM but it would be good to get some guild lines.
I'm still a little confused what you can do and what you can't do while your subject is under 'hypnotic gaze'. It requires your action to keep them dazed, so that leaves reaction, movement and bonus action. I guess with movement you can dramatically walk around your victim in a circle as long as you are within 5 feet of them. But what else can you do? Wouldn't stealing their stuff would be counted as an action, in which case the 'hypnotic gaze' would stop? They are Dazed, can you asked them questions? can request them to do something? like sit down? sign a piece of paper? can you take their hand and make them follow you somewhere?
Is there actually a list somewhere of things you can and cannot do? I'm guessing a lot of this would be up to the DM but it would be good to get some guild lines.
The charmed person has a speed of zero and is incapacitated (can't take actions or reactions,) and the effect is broken if you move more than 5 feet from them. So the charmed person can't do much, but they can still be interacted with. Because they're charmed, you have advantage on all social interactions; you could use this period to extract information or instill instructions. Think of Jafar from Aladdin and his hypnosis of the Sultan.
Other characters are not limited in what they can do, but the hypnosis effect doesn't prevent the target from seeing what's happening around him. If he doesn't like you pilfering all of his stuff and you don't convince him it's okay, he's going to remember this. They can't attack him, either, because the effect ends with damage.
So in combat, this has limited use. You're basically taking yourself, and the target, out of the battle. And you have to get into melee range to do it, so it's pretty risky. Good payoff if it's a small encounter and you can isolate one combatant while the other one gets taken care of.
but This still doesn't really explain, your action is taken up by maintaining the gaze, so what can you physically do? example, can you say, 'That sword looks very heavy, let me carry it for you' Can you take the sword away since you have already used up your action to maintain the gaze.
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I used to look around for stuff on it, but it seems really unpopular compared to Evocation, Divination, and Abjuration. Most Wizard stuff is on that. So I ask all of you; Has anyone else played Enchantment Wizard, and if so, how were your experiences? Do you like to get within close quarters of enemies to make use of instinctive charm, or are those more for panic moments? Also what are some good Split Enchantment combos you guys have discovered? I'm fond of Dominate Person x2.
Aren't Enchantment Wizards just...charming?
Hypnotic gaze has more rp element uses than actual combat value. Since taking yourself out of the fight means taking out a range damage dealer each turn.
But if you can use it successfully to restrain a foe with the help of a party member than it shines but it's solely based on being failed against.
And any split enchantment is good since it's a 2 for 1 per spell slot
Think of hypnotic gaze as a suedo steal anything mechanic. Gaze an npc and just take everything from them. Including clothes. Release them from the gaze, and since charm spells specifically say the charmed object knows they were charmed but hypnotic gaze does not have that in its rules text. They don't know what happened
The 'they know they've been charmed and are hostile toward you' aspect of Charm Person is just too much of a nerf. Maybe there could be a Save to see if they know, or it could be if they failed the initial save by x amount. Imagine the charm mechanic for a damage spell: enemy fails it's save & takes dmg like usual, but now they respond to it like a charm spell, so after one minute, they regain the lost hp. (Like how the opposite of charm happens when it wears off...)
Yeah, I played an Enchantment Wizard! Briefly, anyways. My Tiefling Enchantment Wizard was just oodles of fun to roleplay. Sadly, that campaign fell though, so I'm saving him for later at this time. He had the nobility background, was not going to inherit for story reasons, and, being a Tiefling, his primary motive for studying the arcane arts was to get people to "like" him more. He may or may not have had ambitions for world domination. It was one of the few times I played a PC with a questionable alignment.
I see some posters skeptical of the hypnotic gaze ability, but it save my ass for sure. The party Cleric and I had just gotten tossed into a pit with a deadly monster. Fighting would have meant certain death. I was too low level for a Hold Monster spell, but I as able to entrap it with my hypnotic gaze ability. Since you can extend the effect as an action without forcing another save, we were stalemated, which fortunately gave the Cleric plenty of time to find a locked door and bash it open. Thus followed our manly screams as we fled into the hallway too small for the monster to follow. I'm sure the ability loses it's luster as you level up and have access to better spells, but it was just the thing I needed for that particular encounter.
"Because I'm trying to show this water elemental there's no need to be afraid of the pit of fire! Just play along."
I'm playing wizards all the time, and most of them I gravitate around Enchantment and Illusion, combining both to great results in and out of battle.
Hold Monster is great to focus the battle prowess of martial classes on less targets, and all illusion effects can work as brief conjurations if you play them smart.
"Let your dice roll"
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I primarily play wizards as enchanters- I will say that 5e could really use some more extensive enchantment magic options for spells to compliment the current set, especially for a more concrete combat contribution if you want to stick to your theme. Still the 'hold' spells are very powerful, suggestion can be based on the DM, and there are certain spells that also work well, like tashe's hideous laughter.
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InsiderI love playing my enchantment wizard! Hypontic gaze is incredibly fun rp opportunities and overall i have such a great time playing him as a mostly lazy fellow who uses magic to avoid hard work and get others to do things instead.
It's not as flashy or devastating as evocation, practical like divination or useful like abjuration but it's certainly enjoyable and useful in lots of situations.
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I'm making one and hoping to have them last in a game long enough to hit level eighteen so I can take suggestion and charm person at will. Suggestion at will has been a dream of mine it sounds absurdly fun, and charm person will be great because by then they'll no longer know due to an awesome enchanter ability.
For extra fun is going to be a lazy ass bugbear wizard that learned magic cause it was easy to just chill a read all the time and use magic to make others do stuff for their lazy ass.
If my players tried to pull this Skyrim-esque feat of burgling, there would be harsh words at the table.
Firstly, there should not be harsh words if what they're doing is perfectly RAW and you did not change the rule in advance during the Session Zero.
Secondly: the Hypnotic Gaze only grants disadvantage to perception checks (-5 to passive perception) - if you steal in front of them they can still see and if not direct sight but nearby they can still make a perception check to maybe see the stealing, which would be enough to break the effect. It isn't a bucket on the head they somehow ignore.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I'm trying to figure what rules your using to get that -5... Incapacitated is incapacitated, unless you can break their line of sight from the enchanter I don't see how they can react... In fact the whole point is they're stuck focusing on the enchanter and nothing else... I want to say I agree it can't be done, but I see no RAW why it can't... clearly you can't pull their shirt over their head because it covers their eyes... Honestly more I look more confused I am about this ability... It seems as long as you don't do damage, and they don't make their save, and they never lose their perception of you, the sky is the limit for your allies...
I was being hyperbolic, but only slightly. I don't care if stealing the clothes off the back of an NPC is RAW, I hope my players understand that we're not playing that sort of game. "Haha, let's steal all this shopkeeper's stuff and then humiliate him!" No, we're not doing that. If you want to play that game, you can find someone else to run that game.
Second, I don't know which ability you're reading; Hypnotic Gaze leaves the creature charmed and incapacitated. (Alter Memories doesn't kick in until level 14.) I don't know if either of those affects perception, but there's no clause about the effect ending because the NPC doesn't like what he sees. I suppose an NPC could object or call for help, but I guess it depends on whether you think calling for help would violate being charmed and incapacitated.
Ahhh I was getting this confused with the Enthrall spell. >.<
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
For one, take Magic Initiate (Bard) and get Heroism at level 1. Split that one for some wicked damage reduction for you and an ally.
Hold Person at level 2. 2 people held at the beginning of combat is devilish. At level 11, you could use this 3 times, and an additional 3 times after a short rest with Arcane Recovery. 6 times per day. 12 humanoids.
Spell Mastery? Take Hold Person. Now you’re a god against humanoids, subjecting them continuously to your puppeteering ways over and over again.
Then take Tasha’s Laughter and become the best comedian in all of Neverwinter.
Power Word Kill and Power Word Stun at level 8/9. Two instant deaths or stuns without saves? absolute madness.
Enchantment is a riot to play and Split Enchantment is in my opinion on par with Divine Portent in terms of usability. Being able to Split *any* enchantment spell is a powerful boon.
also...
Geas at Level 9 is permanent instructions to two people. Talk about plotting the assassination of a rival king?
Dominate Person at 9th is literally two personal servants for 8 hours.
I'm still a little confused what you can do and what you can't do while your subject is under 'hypnotic gaze'. It requires your action to keep them dazed, so that leaves reaction, movement and bonus action. I guess with movement you can dramatically walk around your victim in a circle as long as you are within 5 feet of them. But what else can you do? Wouldn't stealing their stuff would be counted as an action, in which case the 'hypnotic gaze' would stop? They are Dazed, can you asked them questions? can request them to do something? like sit down? sign a piece of paper? can you take their hand and make them follow you somewhere?
Is there actually a list somewhere of things you can and cannot do? I'm guessing a lot of this would be up to the DM but it would be good to get some guild lines.
The charmed person has a speed of zero and is incapacitated (can't take actions or reactions,) and the effect is broken if you move more than 5 feet from them. So the charmed person can't do much, but they can still be interacted with. Because they're charmed, you have advantage on all social interactions; you could use this period to extract information or instill instructions. Think of Jafar from Aladdin and his hypnosis of the Sultan.
Other characters are not limited in what they can do, but the hypnosis effect doesn't prevent the target from seeing what's happening around him. If he doesn't like you pilfering all of his stuff and you don't convince him it's okay, he's going to remember this. They can't attack him, either, because the effect ends with damage.
So in combat, this has limited use. You're basically taking yourself, and the target, out of the battle. And you have to get into melee range to do it, so it's pretty risky. Good payoff if it's a small encounter and you can isolate one combatant while the other one gets taken care of.
Thanks Hstein3,
but This still doesn't really explain, your action is taken up by maintaining the gaze, so what can you physically do? example, can you say, 'That sword looks very heavy, let me carry it for you' Can you take the sword away since you have already used up your action to maintain the gaze.